Lee-Metford
Sign in to saveThe Lee–Metford (also known as the Magazine Lee–Metford or .303 Lee Metford) is a British bolt action rifle which combined James Paris Lee's rear-locking bolt system and detachable magazine with an innovative seven-groove rifled barrel designed by William Ellis Metford. It replaced the Martini–Henry as the standard service rifle of the British Empire in 1888, following nine years of development and trials, but remained in service for only a short time until replaced by the Lee–Enfield.
Key facts
- Weapon.name
- Lee–Metford
- Weapon.image
- 300px|Lee–Metford rifle
- Weapon.origin
- United Kingdom
- Weapon.type
- Service rifle
- Weapon.is_ranged
- yes
- Weapon.is_UK
- yes
- Weapon.service
- 1888–present (ceremonial)
- Weapon.used_by
- See Users
- Weapon.designer
- James Paris Lee, RSAF Enfield
- Weapon.manufacturer
- RSAF Enfield
- Weapon.unit_cost
- £3/15/– = £ in 1892-1893
- Weapon.production_date
- 1884–1896
- Weapon.cartridge
- Cartridge .303 Mk I
- Weapon.action
- Bolt-action
- Weapon.rate
- 20 rounds/minute
- Weapon.range
- c.
- Weapon.feed
- 8 or 10-round magazine
- Weapon.sights
- Sliding leaf rear sights, Fixed-post front sights, "Dial" long-range volley sights
via Wikipedia infobox
~7 min read
Encyclopedic overview
8 sectionsContents
- Design
- Replacement
- Charlton Automatic Rifle
- Users
- See also
- References
- Citations
- Sources
The Lee–Metford (also known as the Magazine Lee–Metford or .303 Lee Metford) is a British bolt action rifle which combined James Paris Lee's rear-locking bolt system and detachable magazine with an innovative seven-groove rifled barrel designed by William Ellis Metford. It replaced the Martini–Henry as the standard service rifle of the British Empire in 1888, following nine years of development and trials, but remained in service for only a short time until replaced by the Lee–Enfield.
==Design== thumb|300px|left|Schematic. Image #9 and #10 Lee's bolt action mechanism was a great improvement over other designs of the day The rear-mounted lugs placed the operating handle much closer to the rifleman, over the trigger. This made it much quicker to operate than other, forward-mounted lug designs which forced the rifleman to move his hand forward to operate the bolt. It also enabled the rifleman to operate the trigger with his middle finger while still holding the bolt between thumb and index finger. The bolt's distance of travel was identical with the length of the cartridge, whereas in forward mounted lug designs bolt travel was cartridge length plus lug length. This also meant the firer did not have to lift his face out of the way when drawing back the bolt. The bolt lift was 60 degrees compared to the 90 degree rotation of some French and Mauser-style actions, both speedier and also meaning the rifleman did not lose the sight picture when the bolt handle was in the open position.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Lee-Metford” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.